The Educational Tourist: How I got started

The Educational Tourist – The Beginning

I was raised in a family of travelers. We discussed places far and wide and had fun planning the trips. No down time on these trips – my mom crammed as much as possible into a trip saying, “You can sleep when you get home!”

Vive la France!

My travels alone started when lots of people start theirs – I was young, single, and child free. Foot loose and fancy free! I traveled when, how, and where I wanted. Crazy schedule? Check. Carryon luggage? Check. Insanely full itinerary. Check! It was whirlwind and it was fun!

St. Mark’s Venice

I taught elementary school for 15 years and each school year I saved, planned, and waited for summer. Then, with busy itinerary in tow, I would take off into the wild blue yonder.

Monaco

Then, my life became even more wonderful and full when I met my husband.

Travelling was an exciting part of our life.

And then….. traveler #3 was on the way!

But we’d still travel right? How much space/time/energy/planning could one teeny tiny baby require? (LOL!) Seriously, they are just like luggage, right? As long as you feed them and they have a clean diaper they’ll be happy and you can just schlep them anywhere, right?

In a word….no. Not for me anyway! While life was better and more full than it had ever been…it also included a LOT less sleep. And I had NO idea how much energy my precious little chickadee could zap from me!! For a long time all I wanted was a nap! The thought of jet lag and no sleep was too much to bear.

But we kept going! Chickadee traveled domestically. Jet lag wasn’t a problem and we were on the move! Our youngest learned to sleep in new places and be comfortable around new things and people.

Then, our 2nd traveling chickadee arrived! And still we traveled. With more stuff, and less sleep than I ever imagined.

But, oh the adventures!! We bought a motorhome and took off into the wild blue yonder! That was so much fun and a GREAT way to travel with the littles.

Kids will easily bloom where they are planted.

But still, I wasn’t willing to deal with jet lag and so little sleep. Between the two of them there were some nights I swear I slept only 5 minutes!

Then, one day, while I wasn’t looking… the chickadees grew a little taller, learned from all the traveling we were doing, became a little more flexible about food and sleeping and I thought – IT IS TIME!!

So, I planned and researched and planned some more. A dream trip, indeed! Italy was going to be our first international destination with the kids.

BUT my research didn’t turn up the educational and age appropriate materials I was sure I would find. Where were the guide books on a child’s level? Where were the things just for their interest level? I searched and searched. When I didn’t find them I created my own. And THAT, fellow traveler, is what the Educational Traveler’s Guides are all about. The first one – a travel guide to Rome is kid tested and THIS mom and former teacher approved! From there I have written 11 more titles!

10 Responses

Love, Love, Love all the pics. It makes me want to pack up right now!! So empowering to know that I can take my “brood” of a blended family on a trip abroad and actually be able to enjoy myself and they can learn a little something along the way. : )

Teaching seems like such an awesome way to start traveling with those nice long summer breaks (and quarterly breaks if you’re on a year-round/alternate school schedule!). Kudos to continuing to travel with kiddos in tow.